Soft gelatin capsules are commonly used to encapsulate solid and liquid materials, such as nutritional or pharmaceutical products, for oral administration. Typical methods and equipment for gelatin encapsulation are described in WO 98/42294. The use of gelatin to form capsules, however, has drawbacks that include the high cost, often inadequate supply, and tendency to cross-link.
Thus, compositions are needed that mimic the behavior and characteristics of mammalian gelatin, and that can be used to efficiently produce soft capsules, while overcoming the shortcomings of gelatin. Accordingly, it is to these ends that the present invention is principally directed.